


water break

by hey_you_with_the_face



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, Nice guy Dean, Random cooler, Random ficlet, Runner Castiel, Writer's block buster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 18:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11537652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_you_with_the_face/pseuds/hey_you_with_the_face
Summary: Castiel tries out a new route on his run and finds something curious alongside the road...





	water break

**Author's Note:**

> Another attempt to work through some writer's block on my big bang; this one is based on yet another idea I had while driving to work.

All of the runners he knew said that the mountain road was one of the best routes they’d ever taken but so far, Castiel couldn’t see why. 

There wasn’t anything along the road so far to warrant the insane amount of excitement he’d been subjected to when he posted about trying a new route on Facebook. Sure the scenery was gorgeous, nothing could really beat a lush green forest, the road itself was nicely maintained, and the extremely low occurrence of traffic meant he didn’t have to worry about cars but these traits didn’t seem to merit twenty-some people sending him messages endorsing his choice of run route.

Shrugging off his confusion, Castiel threw himself into his run with gusto and went back to focusing on his pace and breathing, letting the pleasant sounds of the woods become soothing background music. Despite his inability to understand this road’s popularity with the local running community, he mentally made note to add this route to his rotation as he pressed on. It really was quite nice.

About halfway through his run, Castiel encountered his first sign that this road wasn’t like the others.

And oddly enough, the sign was….a sign.

_WATER BOTTLES 1 MILE_

The worn wooden sign with its faded paint caused his pace to stutter slightly at the strangeness of it as he looked back to make sure he hadn’t imagined it.

But what could it mean?

Not stopping to investigate, Castiel continued running as his mind started to wonder about his discovery but eventually he decided it must be leftover from a race or something that had been held up here. The sign was obviously very old going by the stain of age on the wood and the sun faded paint. That’s seemed like a reasonable explanation.

Until he saw the red blob in the distance.

At first he thought it was a trick of the light or that some of the copious sweat that was coating his skin had gotten into his eyes but as he continued plodding closer, Castiel realized it was a cooler.

What the hell?

The runner in Castiel urged him to continue on (he was timing this run after all) but curiosity won out in the end and he slowed to a jog then a walk until he was standing in front of a large red cooler sitting right next to the road. There was a small, nicely maintained house and yard behind it but it looked like no one was home. Castiel noticed these things but what really held his attention was the large sign, worn wood and faded paint like the other, that was stuck in the ground behind it.

_REMEMBER TO HYDRATE, TAKE A BOTTLE IF YOU NEED IT_

There was a small doodle of a bottle of water under the words and an arrow pointing down to the cooler. Unable to resist the siren call of his curiosity, Castiel opened the cooler and saw that the sign was indeed telling the truth.

The cooler was filled to the brim with water bottles and ice.

“Now why would someone do that?” Castiel mused aloud to himself.

“Because you’d be surprised at how many people go walking and running up here without bringing water.”

Castiel jumped as a deep voice answered his question. Whirling around he saw that he was no longer alone.

Behind him stood a man and not just any man, one of the most attractive men Castiel had ever seen. He was decked out in a pair of well worn and dirt coated jeans and t-shirt. His dark blonde hair was cropped short and his handsome face was formed into an expression of amusement that caused his bright green eyes to twinkle.

The man gestured to the road behind Castiel. “If I had a dollar for every time I see a runner/walker/cyclist going by my house looking like they were about to keel over because they didn’t bring a bottle of water with them, I’d be rich enough to quit my job,” he said, shaking his head and smiling as he waved at the cooler. “So, I started leaving a cooler full of water out here.”

Impressed by this display of altruism, Castiel added ‘kind’ and ‘sweet’ to the list of things to describe this strange man right under ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’. “That’s really nice of you…” Castiel said, allowing his words to trail off in a shameless attempt to get the man’s name.

“Dean,” the man said, picking up on his less than subtle cue as he offered his hand. “Dean Winchester.”

“Castiel Novak,” Castiel said in response, thankful that the fact he’d just been running would disguise the way his breathing hitched as he felt the warm strength in Dean’s hand. “I’d heard a lot of good things about this route but no one would tell me why, I guess this explains all the good reviews.”

Dean chuckled and Castiel suppressed a shudder as the sound. They fell into a slightly awkward silence, slightly awkward in the way that Castiel was caught up taking in the enticing sight of Dean’s shirt sticking to his chest. A tingle of excitement shot down Castiel’s spine to his toes as he realized Dean was doing the same to him.

“So, hopefully this doesn’t seem too out there but um,” Dean said, rubbing the back of his head shyly, “Would it be super freaky of me if I asked if you were interested in getting a drink sometime?”

This time it was Castiel’s turn to chuckle quietly. “Oh yes, incredibly freaky,” he replied, trying to sound serious but not able to keep the grin from pulling up the corners of his mouth. “But luckily for you, super freaky isn’t really a deal breaker for me.”

For an added cherry on top, Castiel tipped him a flirtatious wink.

The flash of heat in Dean’s eyes followed by the thousand watt grin that was sent his way at his response, not to mention the newest contact addition in his phone, had Castiel smiling until his face began to hurt as he jogged onward. 

A bottle of ice cold water clutched in his fist.


End file.
